Global K-pop festival KCON has announced the lineup of its upcoming ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ kick-off concerts in Chicago.
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Earlier today (March 29), KCON unveiled the lineup of its upcoming ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ concerts in Chicago, Illinois which will take place on May 21 and 22 at the Rosemont Theatre. A new promotional clip reveals popular girl group STAYC and NMIXX will be part of the lineup, along with boybands, BtoB, CRAVITY and TO1.
Notably STAYC and NMIXX will also be performing at the ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ concerts in Seoul, which will also mark the debut of both groups at a KCON event. Meanwhile, TO1 will be performing at the ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ concerts in Tokyo.
“This year, fans will be able to experience an upgraded version of KCON, packed with new content reflecting the trends of Gen Z fans and programs tailored for local fans, on top of original fan favourite programming and panels unique to KCON,” said Don Kim, director of live entertainment business at CJ ENM, per NBC Chicago.
KCON 2022 Premiere’s USA LINEUP!
KCON 2022 Premiere’s アメリカラインナップ！#BTOB#CRAVITY#NMIXX#STAYC#TO1#KCON #KCON2022Premiere pic.twitter.com/U5pkZZezow
— KCON official (@KCON_official) March 29, 2022
The announcement comes just a week after South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM revealed that the iconic K-pop festival would be making its long-awaited return, following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ events are to serve as a special kick-off to the main 2022 instalments of KCON, which will take place in Los Angeles from 19 to 21 August and Japan on as-yet-unannounced October dates.
In addition, the festival will also be bringing back its digital program KCON:TACT – which has been held five different times over the past two years in lieu of the original physical festival – for fans who will not be able to attend in person. Details for this year’s KCON festivals, including ticket sales and lineups, will be available here.
KCON was first held in 2012 in the Californian city of Irvine, before going on to visit nine more cities and regions across North America, Europe and Asia. The festival managed to rake in approximately 291,000 visitors at their last in-person event in 2019.
Past acts that have graced the KCON stage include BTS, Girls’ Generation, MONSTA X, TWICE, ITZY and NCT, among others.
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